Dear colleagues, We invite applications for the Vienna Doctoral School of Philosophy Summer School 2025, 'The Philosophy of Iris Murdoch'. The details can be found below and on the summer school webpage: https://pace.phl.univie.ac.at/the-philosophy-of-iris-murdoch/. Instructors: Justin Broackes (Brown), Cathy Mason (CEU), Silvia Panizza (UCD/UPSE), Rachael Wiseman (Liverpool) Dates: July 14th-18th, 2025 Deadline for application: March 30th, 2025 Location: Neues Institutsgebäude (NIG), Universitätstrasse 7, 1010 Wien Overview of the Topic Although Iris Murdoch is still best known for her novels, her philosophical work is finally beginning to receive the recognition that it deserves. An Oxford philosopher, educated during the Second World War and later employed there as a lecturer, Murdoch’s philosophy marks a significant departure from the dominant analytic tradition of her place and time: a return to a philosophy deeply attuned to the human condition and to metaphysical thinking. Murdoch’s ideas began to develop with a critique of the prevailing approaches to language and thought, later evolving into a novel conception of ethics. Engaged with both analytic and continental traditions, she proposed vision as the basic category of evaluation and freedom as the ability to see the world rightly, rather than as detachment from it. As opposed to the amoral view of metaphysics, she sought to reanimate the concept of a world that finds meaning through “the Good”. She writes in dialogue with a diverse range of philosophers, including Plato, Kant, Hegel, Schopenhauer, Wittgenstein, Heidegger, French existentialists, and Derrida, among others, and she has had a strong influence on some of today’s best-known philosophers, including Cora Diamond, John McDowell, Martha Nussbaum, and Charles Taylor. The summer school aims to bring together promising young philosophers with some of the leading experts on Murdoch’s philosophical work. Participants will have the chance to engage with her major themes, uncover less-explored aspects of her work, and contribute to the ongoing discussion of her ideas with their own research. Application & Fees We welcome applications from PhD students, postdoctoral researchers and advanced MA students in philosophy and related disciplines. To apply for participation, please send the following documents to Matt Dougherty (doughertym(a)ceu.edu): 1. Curriculum Vitae (max. 2 pages) 2. Statement of Purpose (no longer than 1 page), explaining the relevance of the summer school to your study, research, teaching and/or other professional work Statement of Financial Aid (optional). We can offer partial financial support (including the coverage of the school fees) to the participants whose home institutions cannot cover their expenses. We therefore ask the applicants who wish to be considered for funding to briefly describe their situation in the statement. 3. Abstract (optional; max. 250 words). If you would like to present your work at the summer school, please send us a short abstract of your presentation. Since the number of slots for student presentations is limited, this will help us decide on how to allocate them. The summer school fee is 75 Euros. The fee includes the student union fee of 25 Euros, which is required by Austrian law to register at the University of Vienna and to receive a certificate of completion of the summer school. Please, submit your application by March 30, 23.59 CET. Contact Email: doughertym(a)ceu.edu We will notify you of the decision by April 7, 23.59 CET. Diversity Statement: We strongly encourage applications from members of disadvantaged and underrepresented groups. Organizing Committee Paulina Sliwa Matt Dougherty Sebastian Aster Maria Fedorova Bojin Zhu The VDP Summer School 2025 is funded by the Vienna Doctoral School of Philosophy (University of Vienna).